VA academy not coming to Palm Coast

Thursday

Feb 14, 2013 at 5:54 PMFeb 14, 2013 at 8:35 PM

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs this week announced it is not moving its Law Enforcement Training Center to Palm Coast. Furthermore, a VA official said it was more interested in checking out leftover computer hardware inside the building rather than uprooting and relocating its academy from Little Rock, Ark.

TONY HOLTSTAFF WRITER

PALM COAST — An $8.9 million vacant property along the city's main drag is likely to remain that way for longer than Flagler County officials had hoped.The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs this week announced it is not moving its Law Enforcement Training Center to Palm Coast. Furthermore, a VA official said it was more interested in checking out leftover computer hardware inside the building rather than uprooting and relocating its academy from Little Rock, Ark."I've been assured by the director of Security and Law Enforcement that VA people went to Palm Coast mainly to see if there was government equipment being excessed that (the) VA could take," said VA spokeswoman Jo Schuda.County officials made a pitch last month to VA representatives to occupy the building at 4500 Palm Coast Parkway and based on early feedback, they were optimistic a deal was forthcoming.But the deal never materialized and now Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, which owns the property, and Flagler County are looking at other agencies to move into the empty Center for Management and Executive Leadership.Russell Eilrich, deputy director of the VA Law Enforcement Training Center, notified the county in an email Wednesday that his agency would not be moving the academy."Unfortunately, due to a number of factors, we will not be pursuing relocation of the (center)," Eilrich wrote. "While I understand this is disappointing for all of us with a vested interest, it was determined relocation would not be in the best interest of the government, Department of Veterans Affairs or our organization." Schuda said anyone who might have concluded the VA was interested in the building becoming the next academy site had "unwarranted optimism."Embry-Riddle President John Johnson told The Daytona Beach News-Journal last week that the VA was interested in occupying the building and that an agreement was possibly weeks away from becoming official."It's unfortunate that an impression was left with the university owner that the VA was interested in occupying the property," said Schuda.She also said the VA takes an extended amount of time whenever a lease is involved, sometimes as much as two years. Johnson could not be reached for comment Thursday.The Federal Aviation Authority once used the facility to train its employees, mostly those in the field of air-traffic control, on how to become supervisors.When the FAA decided to move its management training to Oklahoma City, executives at Embry-Riddle immediately began looking for other tenants for the building. The county lost about 100 jobs as a result of the FAA's decision to vacate the training facility, said County Administrator Craig Coffey.The FAA also had, on average, 2,000 trainees staying at the facility per year. Those students stayed for days and weeks at a time. The VA, by comparison, was expected to bring upward of 4,000 trainees per year and their stays would have been for months, according to the county.The training center has almost 200 rooms, eight classrooms, a racquetball court and indoor swimming pool. The FAA contacted the VA to let them know employees were leaving behind some computer equipment and that's how the VA first learned about the training center, Schuda said. "We're disappointed of course that the VA isn't coming," said county spokesman Carl Laundrie. "It would have been a nice fit." Melanie Hanns, an Embry-Riddle spokeswoman, confirmed the university is no longer in talks with the VA but declined to comment further.Among those the county brought in to assist with the recruitment effort was Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre. While most of the training would have taken place at the Palm Coast facility, other amenities -- such as a driving course and firing range -- were going to be provided off-site by the county. The gun range would have been managed by the Sheriff's Office, said Manfre."I thought the county did a great job trying to entice them (the VA) to come here," the sheriff said. "I was honored to be a part of that process."Schuda said the former FAA training center never could be a suitable location for the Law Enforcement Training Center because there isn't a firing range in place or close to the property. "Not having a ready-built space for a firing range is not cost-effective," Schuda said, "and the present academy in Little Rock is adequate for now."Coffey did not return a voice-mail message Thursday, but in a prepared statement sent to the News-Journal late Wednesday, he surmised the media had played a role in the VA's decision not to move to Palm Coast."Preliminary interest from public and private entities is a very sensitive topic," Coffey wrote. "These opportunities can evaporate as a result of something as seemingly innocent as premature publicity."Schuda said The News-Journal's recent article about the negotiations had no impact on the VA's decision to notify the county it wasn't interested in the training center."There may have been some unwarranted optimism," she said of the early impression officials with Embry-Riddle and the county had about the VA's intentions. "I was assured there was no way someone could have said they were interested in this."She also said VA officials were surprised to discover there wasn't much computer equipment left behind by the FAA when representatives visited the center in January. "It was vacated," said Schuda. "They really didn't find anything that they could pick up."